# Tennessee HB 2194: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9, relative to public institutions of higher education. Tennessee HB 2194, AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9, relative to public institutions of higher education., is a 114th General Assembly (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2026-04-27 (Effective date(s) 04/16/2026, 07/01/2026) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB2194-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Tennessee HB 2194 - State: Tennessee - Session: 114th General Assembly (2025-2026) - Title: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9, relative to public institutions of higher education. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-02-02 - Last action: 2026-04-27, Effective date(s) 04/16/2026, 07/01/2026 - Sponsors: no sponsor on record - Cosponsors: 4 - Subjects: Education, Higher - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 6 (185 yes, 51 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Public colleges must protect free expression: benefit, low. Every Tennessee public college must adopt policies protecting institutional neutrality, free expression, and respectful discussion. The policies must support a campus where people can respectfully express all viewpoints. Colleges must post these policies on their websites. Policy-adoption requireme… - New tenure and discipline rules for faculty: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the law separates faculty tenure decisions from discipline, applying from the 2026–2027 academic year onward. The Board of Regents and each state university board must adopt these policies. The University of Tennessee trustees must do the same if they adopt the referenced te… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Cosponsor: Rush Bricken (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Aron Maberry (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Kevin D. Raper (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Michele Reneau (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-23 | Senate | FLOOR VOTE: Third Consideration 3/23/2026 | pass | 25 | 5 | | | 2026-03-09 | House | FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/9/2026 | pass | 70 | 21 | | | 2026-03-09 | House | FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PREVIOUS QUESTION AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 3/9/2026 | pass | 72 | 21 | | | 2026-03-09 | House | HOUSE CALENDAR & RULES COMMITTEE | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-03 | House | HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE | pass | 13 | 3 | | | 2026-02-18 | House | HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE | pass | 5 | 1 | | ## Actions (24) - 2026-04-27: Effective date(s) 04/16/2026, 07/01/2026 - 2026-04-27: Pub. Ch. 761 - 2026-04-16: Signed by Governor. - 2026-04-07: Transmitted to Governor for his action. (House) - 2026-04-01: Signed by Senate Speaker (Senate) - 2026-04-01: Signed by H. Speaker (House) - 2026-03-24: Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker. (House) - 2026-03-23: Passed Senate, Ayes 25, Nays 5 (Senate) - 2026-03-23: Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill. (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Received from House, Passed on First Consideration (Senate) - 2026-03-10: Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen. (House) - 2026-03-09: Passed H., as am., Ayes 70, Nays 21, PNV 1 (House) - 2026-03-09: Sponsor(s) Added. (House) - 2026-03-09: H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0586) (House) - 2026-03-05: H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 3/9/2026 (House) - 2026-03-04: Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 3/5/2026 (House) - 2026-03-03: Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee (House) - 2026-02-25: Placed on cal. Education Committee for 3/3/2026 (House) - 2026-02-18: Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Education Committee (House) - 2026-02-11: Placed on s/c cal Higher Education Subcommittee for 2/18/2026 (House) - 2026-02-05: Assigned to s/c Higher Education Subcommittee (House) - 2026-02-05: P2C, ref. to Education Committee (House) - 2026-02-04: Intro., P1C. (House) - 2026-02-02: Filed for introduction (House) ## Bill text - HA0586, 2026-03-09: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0586.pdf) - Enrolled / Public Chapter: [PDF](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0761.pdf) - Fiscal Note: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Fiscal/SB2259.pdf) - Introduced: [PDF](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/HB2194.pdf) ## Related bills - HB 2091: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 70, Chapter 9, relative to off-highway vehicles. (failed) - HB 2023: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-24-109, relative to the victims assistance assessment. (failed) - HB 1967: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 13 and Title 55, Chapter 10, relative to leaving the scene of an accident. (failed) - HB 1906: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 34, Part 6, relative to creditable service for a period of disability. (failed) - HB 1720: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 13, relative to zoning outside of municipal boundaries. (failed) - HB 1710: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 1 and Title 4, Chapter 58, relative to public benefits. (failed) ## Sources - [HA0586 (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Amend/HA0586.pdf) - [Enrolled / Public Chapter (PDF)](https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0761.pdf) - [Fiscal Note (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Fiscal/SB2259.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://capitol.tn.gov/Bills/114/Bill/HB2194.pdf) ## Related - [HB 2091: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 70, Chapter 9, relative to off-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB2091-2025-2026) - [HB 2023: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 40-24-109, relative to the vi…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB2023-2025-2026) - [HB 1967: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 13 and Title 55, Ch…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB1967-2025-2026) - [HB 1906: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8, Chapter 34, Part 6, relative…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB1906-2025-2026) - [HB 1720: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5; Title 6; Title 7 and Title 1…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB1720-2025-2026) - [HB 1710: AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 1 and Title 4, Chapt…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB1710-2025-2026) - [Tennessee bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/tennessee/bills) - [Tennessee state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/tennessee) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/TN-HB2194-2025-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).